


The Masks People Wear

by Valentine20xx



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mild Akane Bashing, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 02:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20302090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine20xx/pseuds/Valentine20xx
Summary: On particular days in Nerima, several people abruptly decide to do something else, for example, Tendo Nabiki heads off to work at a casino, and Tendou Kasumi goes to cut loose on the dance floor...However, at the same time, Ran Nushi meets with a bus driver outside Hikarigaoka, and heads off to attend a cosplay convention or the latest Comiket. Until recently, no-one knew that had anything to do with the mass exodus of the Nerima Wrecking Crew...Until someone actually realised they didn't know whatRanmawas doing...





	The Masks People Wear

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Ranma Nibbunoichi © Rumiko Takahashi/Viz Media, and is used without permission.
> 
> This story takes Ranma’s narrative and flips it on it’s head by exploring the secret lives of many of the characters, using some of the most plausible ways that each of them would keep themselves busy during the lull in the endless conflicts that happen between Ranma and his acquaintances. I refuse to say ‘Friends’, since most of them would want to kill him, depending on his gender or the time of the week, and all but two of the rest want the majority to go away and leave them in peace, embarrassingly Ranma himself included in the latter group.  
Throughout this story, Characters key to the narrative will be not where everyone else expects them to be, and that’s where the real fun of this idea begins, with very few people knowing everything, and several of the cast having a prolonged period to reconsider what they’re actually doing with their life. I will mildly disclaim that Kasumi and Nabiki were given the best coping mechanism I found that was legal, legitimate and workable, which is also why they are used so often in my works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have mildly time-shifted Ranma's events to mid-2000, rather than the mid-90's, to allow for some fun references to things like the Super Sentai Dances, which only really became common when Super Hero Time was fully established. I will say this could be said to occur after the failed wedding, but the events of the series itself take a back door.

It is commonly known that an earthquake warning usually induces a general state of panic, as people watch the news intently, hoping that the quake will pass them by, and even worse terror if it won't.  
It is also well documented that Japan is an exception to this rule, having become experts in earthquake proofing their buildings, with even their highest buildings requiring that they're safe against anything below a 6 on the Richter scale, and are likely capable of riding out anything below a 7.  
The general concession over an earthquake in Japan is simply to assess the damages, figure out how much it would cost to repair, and completely ignore the fact that a natural disaster just struck. However, a certain district of Tokyo, namely Furinkan-cho in Nerima, has most of the country beaten on what it will brush off as part of the routine.

Whenever a giant, plasma-breathing monster arrives in most suburbs of Tokyo, nine times out of ten, They head for the civic defence shelters and cower and hide until it leaves. If it is a particular plasma-breathing monster, they additionally contact Toho to let them know he’s out rampaging again.  
However, within Furinkan-cho, the main school of the district opens up it’s… semi-legal betting store, while the students make bets on how long before the monster leaves, and if it will head towards Hikarigaoka-cho or Azabu-Juuban next. The last time it happened, the giant monster was literally punted into central Tokyo within the first hour, because someone was in a really bad mood that morning, and what damage it caused before it’s unceremonious ejection was repaired by the afternoon. Any monster affiliated with Toho is greeted warmly, and sent on their way.  
Even more notably, a small group declares a truce whenever Super Hero Time is on, and compare strategies for the monster of the week, with an award for the most viable, and compare notes on each member of the Sentai team or each Kamen Rider, judging them on aesthetic style and combat style(s), and how many of them could kick their butt. One time, they called Jason David Frank to ask him to do an match, which he proved most of them wrong about how many of them could actually beat him.  
As it was, for that same group, they had to know when the next attack by killer soba noodles was happening, which was always since, despite Akane swearing off making soba regularly, she keeps forgetting, which lead to bets keep getting made on how long it would stick for, current bets being a week… and when the next martial arts danceathon was happening…

** _In case you need to know, They happen every Thursday, about 6pm. You’ll get bonus points if you successfully manage to do one of the recent dance sequences for a tokusatsu dance theme, especially if you manage to get enough members to do the entire team. Submissions for song choices are done by 9pm on Wednesday, or there will be hell to pay. That or Nabiki, and Hell is cheaper by far._ **

For everyone else, the only thing they could do was ignore it, and act like it was perfectly normal for things like that to happen, and that the police had a special classification for acts perpetrated by the special group of martial artists, the Nerima Wrecking Crew. Notably, anyone who opened a new ice cream store and didn’t learn quickly to employ female serving staff lost half their stock due to impromptu freebies to cute girls. Especially redheads. No-one had a clue where she came from, only that she loved ice cream for free, and could get it. Often.

The impromptu leader of the Nerima Wrecking Crew was Ranma Saotome. The almost outright champion of the martial arts danceathon, and that was only since Kasumi decided to take part once, and unofficial leader of the Nerima Wrecking Crew. However, He also knew the truth, about what the other members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew did on their ‘days off’, when they wanted to escape the endless fights and increasingly ludicrous bets, some way to relax and ignore that their lives were sinking deeper into chaos.

Well, Most of them were trying to escape the increasingly ludicrous bets. Nabiki’s way of relaxing was to exchange her table on the grounds of Furinkan High School for a betting table at a very exclusive and high class casino, going from scamming people out of pocket money to handling massive denominations of yen and snap valuing various items offered in exchange for a fresh pile of dwindling chips.  
Whether it was scamming high schoolers out of several thousand yen for a few illicitly gathered rumours, or swindling rich gaijins out of a thousand times that in gold and platinum plated casino chips for her college fund, she didn’t feel sorry for either of them.  
The fact she did it on commission made her completely unrepentant about sliding the gleaming slabs of money into the hole beside her. Ranma’s only interaction with Nabiki’s job was several tables down from her, and meant he had quite a nice nest egg of his own for when things went south with the Tendo agreement. He knew full well it would fall apart, it was barely holding together as it was.

He’d have not noticed Kasumi’s escape measure at all if it hadn’t have been for someone suggesting the dance contests, with Kasumi’s wince when they were announced being initially thought to be that she had no skill at all, until she met Kasumi's friend at a cosplay convention and she accidentally let slip about Kasumi. Kasumi blew it completely when she deliberately came on in her ‘work’ clothes when she did that one performance, no-one else recognising her due to the fact her hair was down, her outfit was tight and almost none of the members of the Wrecking Crew outside her sisters acknowledged she existed.  
When Ranma first distributed pictures to his contacts, she went from a wallflower to a hard prospect as he discovered she was, to dance, what he was to martial arts. Ranma’s work with her was purely to fan the flames of a report that she was going steady with someone, who was watching her career, also shutting down a few illegal image sharing topics and had contact with the friend that took the calls to keep the majority of the house from knowing which trips were to the library, of course not under his real name.

All of that didn't matter as a bus cruised up to a bus stop in neighboring Hikarigaoka, Ranma, currently under the Saotome cloaking technique, mused about how well he’d managed to keep anyone from finding out his escape mechanism. The cloak dropped in the alley a short distance away from the bus stop, and what was revealed was his girl side, dressed in an out-of-district school uniform, her hairstyle redone into a pixie cut.  
“Ah, Ran, such a sight for sore eyes!” The bus driver called, and ‘Ran’ smiled, cheerfully. This bus stop was a good 50 metres outside Nabiki’s active searches, and the out-of-district uniform meant none of the passive measures gave her a second look. Especially since the bus was going to that school district, and wasn’t coming out of Furinkan itself. It was a bit overkill, but when Ryoga could find him by accident in the middle of nowhere, he needed to be sure no-one linked Ran with Ranma.  
“You’re not my type, Shiro...” She replied to the greeting as she boarded and they headed towards where Shiro thought his favourite customer lived. Admittedly, She was beginning to think her type was brunettes, while Shiro’s hair was a fading blond.  
“So, How long will you need to stay in town for?” Shiro asked, watching his best customer. She looked pensive, Shiro not knowing she was judging how long it would take to repair the school, especially if Nabiki fled the district.  
“Three months...” She offered, “Hear about the problems Furinkan-cho had a few days back?”  
The driver winced. The school was practically condemned after an accident in the cookery club. Ran knew more, namely the fact the person in charge of admitting students into said club had been dismissed from the post, but not the club itself, after the incident. He’d only been at the school a week, so he was allowed to make mistakes in thinking Akane was lying when she said she was one of the best cooks in the district.  
Kasumi had threatened to return to school and take over the club if it happened again, citing that she’d never actually graduated due to a paperwork issue. Ran had only heard about the last fact recently, and heard it was since her mother died while she was still in school.  
She mentally cursed the fact she’d missed that, and was looking into it as much as she could, due to the fact she’d need to look into records that were already well monitored by Nabiki and even sniffing around them would get her circling. She regularly sold what should have been confidential information from those files, so he knew she had access.  
“So, Any boy catch your eye?” He tried, half in jest. Ran had a prepared answer, especially with how she presented herself.  
“You try living near Nerima and find a boy who is worth dating...” She sighed, “It’s a martial arts mecca in the making. Why do you think I don’t like staying with my relatives?”

Ran Nushi, also known as Ranma Saotome, had the perfect escape from the chaos that was Furinkan... Well, All the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, if they tried to hide, did it by reinventing who they already were. Ran Nushi was clerically real, all thanks to how often the records office at Furinkan High got information misplaced or outright destroyed. Sometimes even at the same time as the records office was partially demolished with alarming regularity.  
Once she got off the bus, she was met by Saeko Himura, a cosplay otaku who was Ran’s closest friend, and one of her most invaluable assets. Ran actually lived with her, being estranged from her family due to being caught sleeping with one of her classmates. The problem was that they were both girls, and they were far past a Class S relationship, Kyoko Himura met them outside, giving her partner a deep kiss.  
They had been married in a very discreet, very private, ceremony, with the priest who did it accepting the donation to the renovation fund, Ran also paying off the other officials who were made to look the other way over their age and gender. Ran didn’t exactly go into why she knew which people to pay off, or a priest who would marry anyone, no questions asked. Neither of them would expect it was since she had found the information on Nabiki’s computer.

Back at the Tendo Dojo, as Akane walked round in fury, Nabiki was suddenly thinking about the seven-figure commissions she was always walking away with, while Kasumi got out her phone and told Kikuko that she wanted to go stay with her for a few weeks, and to get there as soon as possible.  
“RANMA!!!” Akane growled as she stormed into the room, a hammer at the ready, Nabiki almost pleading for her to calm down, “Where is that baka?!?”  
At that point, Nabiki decided that honesty was the better idea than suicide by mallet. “Akane, I just got off the phone with my contacts… Moments after the north wing collapsed, no-one could find him, and they checked the rubble,” Nabiki stated, while hoping some nice fat Arabians were on her table later. Those were 10 figure cheques, and that was the tips.  
“He’s with one of...” She began, and Nabiki sighed. Her temper was getting worse and worse when Ranma fled.  
Nabiki mentally was thinking ‘An Arab, a Texan and a blue chip businessman walk into a casino...’ as she replied, “He’s not with Ukyo, He’s not with Xian Pu, He’s definitely not with Kodachi...” Nabiki dictated, “We’ve checked them, and double checked, He’s vanished totally...”  
She mentally added ‘again’, and called her private phone, asking if there was a rich sucker coming in later, to get a message back suggesting that a nice dumb gaijin was indeed coming in later, and he'd be directed to her table. That would do. She would not feel quite as bad tomorrow. She’d feel even better when the payment cleared with the bank.  
“Why does he keep disappearing?” Akane snapped, as her hammer disintegrated, the chakra holding it together dissipating as it went unused and effectively discarded.  
“Hell if I know...” Nabiki white-lied. Her mind was already on those platinum metal plaques as she conned and cajoled the man her friends at the casino had lined up, and it had only been a few hours since she’d been walking through the ruins with her official ‘staff’ and a hard-hat on. She knew Akane would have killed him on the spot if Ranma hadn’t fled from the school grounds when the fighting started.

She was about to continue when Kikuko cruised up to pick up Kasumi as ‘Contact 13’ approached. She wasn’t strictly one of her contacts, actually being her assistant at the casino, but everyone in Furinkan knew her as the unlucky sap who got assigned 13. It was purely so no-one would approach her when she appeared.  
“Ma’am, I have something I need to discuss… She will be back later when more information is available.” Contact 13 offered, then they both left, and, five minutes later, were sat in the back of a nearby limousine, discussing the betting habits of the rich and stupid. Nabiki had another reason she didn’t discuss Contact 13, as they shared a deep kiss. They both loved money, and making it. So, evidently, they loved each other.

In Kikuko's car, Kikuko glared at Kasumi.  
“I hear you did something slightly foolish a few weeks ago... One of my friends told me...” Kikuko told Kasumi, who slumped and sighed.  
“But, Every Thursday, they do a dance-off! What was I meant to do? Leave it alone? Not dance?!? I've adored dancing since I was ten!” Kasumi pouted, “Anyway, I managed to beat Ranma, Mr. I-don’t-lose… He was goggling like a fish when I did it too...”  
“OK, Yes, You made the dumb ‘I can fight in any style, win in any style’ freeloader you have to deal with day-in-day-out pay...” Kikuko sighed, “When are you going to let the fans know you’re...”  
“Not straight?” Kasumi asked, “Look, I appreciate the girl you hired to get that rumour out that I have a boyfriend...”  
“I didn’t strictly hire Ms. Nushi, She’s loaded. She didn’t need me to hire her, she did it because she hates stalkers. Hell, She does poker playing at...” Kikuko began, before smirking, and taking out her phone.  
“What is it?” Kasumi stated, for her to cue up a video.  
"I got this from someone a few days back, It's the same place as Ran does a few hands," Kikuko stated, "Anyway, It's Table 13, nicknamed the Rich Man, Poor Man table, since you go there rich, and you leave poor..."  
"They're clearly a couple. No-one who isn't would switch over like..." Kasumi stated, then paused the video when a good shot of the two dealers was on it, "Fuck me... Nabiki?! And the other girl is who she calls Contact 13!"  
"Contact 13?" Kikuko stated, guessing Nabiki hadn't told them that she had a girlfriend.  
"Yeah, recent new contact she got, I know she's engaged to..." Kasumi stated, "How's our budget, Kikuko? We have a poker table to take over..."  
“Could do one or two hands, without looking out of place, but if we want to run it hard, we need Ran Nushi...” Kikuko began.  
"Wait... Your loaded contact's first name is Ran?" Kasumi asked, "Is she red haired?"  
"Hair in a pixie cut, pretty cute..." Kikuko stated, showing Kasumi a picture of a girl who she'd not immediately peg as Ranma's female side, but one of the pictures Nabiki discarded, compared to Ran's picture.  
"We just found one of the biggest secrets in Furinkan..." Kasumi declared, "How long have you known Ran?"  
"I met her at a cosplay convention along with her friends, Saeko and Kyoko Himura..." Kikuko stated, "Saeko does this really good Amelia, and Ran is one of the best Lina Inverse cosplayers going..."  
"When's the next one?" Kasumi asked. She needed to find out quite how much Ranma had been acting as secret keeper for her, and potentially also Nabiki... and why...


End file.
